Parliament will discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal on Aug 14 and 16 even as the Left, the BJP-NDA and the Third Front continue to stiffly oppose the agreement, reports Shekhar Iyer.

Parliament will discuss the Indo-US nuclear deal on August 14 and 16 even as the Left, the BJP-NDA and the Third Front continue to stiffly oppose the agreement which, they allege, compromises the country’s foreign policy options.

But the Congress is confident that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement on August 13 on the subject will address the concerns of the Left parties.

Congress sources claim that the PM is upset that Communists are making an issue of the deal when he has at every step kept the Left —and Parliament — informed. “At that time, the Left did not raise the hue and cry that they are now doing,’’ said a minister. He indicated that an UPA-Left coordination committee meeting may be held before the debate takes place.

The BJP has given notice for a debate under Rule 184, which entails voting. The Left has so far only given notice for a general discussion under Rule 193.

On Friday, though, the Left demanded a ‘sense of Parliament’ (a unanimous opinion expressed by all parties on an issue of importance) on the nuclear deal.

The Congress core committee met on Friday and discussed the issue.

NDA pledges stormy start to this session

Top NDA leaders have decided to seek suspension of the question hour in Parliament on Monday to discuss the Goa Speaker’s act of suspending three MLAs to save the Kamat government, pledging a stormy start to the monsoon session.

The NDA leaderships decision to stand by their move to seek a vote on the nuclear deal, despite the Left's stand that the pact could be discussed without going through the motion of voting, also promises to add fuel to the expectedly fiery session.